To Canada and back again

We went back home to Canada in mid January. Who in their right mind would choose the middle of January to go to Alberta? Before we headed home we stopped off in Iowa to celebrate Jake’s parents’ 60th wedding anniversary in Sioux Center. We spent a few enjoyable days there with Jake’s brother and sister-in-law. We were very thankful that Kurt, Sherry Ann and Sophia, along with Tim were able to join us. KerryAnne and the children were not able to come due to illness.

We had some quick adjustments to make. We could deposit the toilet paper in the toilet and flush it away. It took a few times looking for a garbage can before we fell back into the usual habit. We could also take showers with lots of water and still get a hot shower.

The three vehicles traveled back to Canada together and we did encounter a storm in North Dakota and southern Saskatchewan. With five drivers and three vehicles we were able to make it home in good time, considering the weather.

We spent the time visiting children and grandchildren and were honored to celebrate the birthdays of our oldest granddaughter, Karmen, who turned 18 and her little sister, Sophia, who turned one. Jake had to spend a lot of time tying up loose ends for the business and I had a chance to meet with a number of girlfriends for a scrap booking day. I was honored that my niece took a personal day so that we could spend some time together. It was a busy time and we learned that a week certainly was not long enough. It will take some time before we know what the right length of time is.

And about the weather – it was gorgeous. I never wore a heavy jacket once and the temperature remained about 0 C. the whole time. We couldn’t have had it better.

We headed back to Bolivia laden with luggage. We took the maximum back that we could, along with a new computer for the radio ministry. We landed in Santa Cruz without mishap, and although we do not normally hire a porter, we did this time. That made going through customs much quicker. Waiting for us was our good friend, Jake Fehr. It was his computer. He was like a little kid in a candy store with his new toy. We are thankful that we were able to take it along since it will make his life much easier. The Fehr’s persuaded us to stay in Santa Cruz for a couple of days. We planned to go to San Julian but that never did materialize. Instead we spent some very enjoyable days getting to know the new members of the EEFCM team, Rudy and Erna Friesen. As well we did some shopping to look at the availability of solar equipment and things that we would need when we move to Yapacani.

We agreed to stay in Santa Cruz but there was a problem. We left here with only one set of clothes since we knew that we would not wear shorts in Canada. So when we came back we had only one set of clothes to last us a week! No problem, there is a used clothes market and you can get some clothes there. Rudy and Erna want to go to so it would be a good time to get to know each other. So off the five of us went. We took the maid along in case we had problems. And what a market. It was about a mile long and four aisles wide filled with used clothing. Of course, we loved it because we saw good bargains. But to think that all of it was cast offs from North America was overwhelming. Most of the clothes cost around $1 to $2. They are purchased by the bale and then sold. Jake asked the price of a bale (about 100 lbs.) and it was $20.00. We are not sure how things can be done that cheaply but sometimes it is better not to ask.

We spent the weekend at the radio station and while we were there the Rio Grande started to overflow. That means that is took another route. The ground is very sandy and the river has no banks so often it simply diverts through an easier route. The town of Pailon has dykes built around it but a dyke broke further upstream. The town itself was not affected but a lot of land was under a meter of water. It was also reported that further north the people were on the road since it was the only high spot. They said the rain came from Cochabamba rather than from rain falling in that area. With all the rain we have had in the past week, I am sure that there is even more flooding.

We submitted the paperwork for our visas on Monday and then headed back to Cochabamba on Tuesday. And back to school on Wednesday.

Since we returned, we have had two new additions to our house. One is Finian’s cat, Gatto, and the other is his new brother. Aiden Philip was born just after midnight on Feb. 7. By noon he was at home being spoiled by his grandparents who were visiting from England.

So now life goes back to normal, whatever that is. Although we first thought (idealistically) that we would now enough Spanish but the end of February, and then the end of March, we have decided that we will be here at least until the end of April. I am not willing to head out into the community without a good grasp of the language since there will be no one there to rescue us if we don’t understand. So we have made ourselves at home, hung up the family pictures, and settled in.

Until next time.